Return to Simplicity

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Return to Simplicity

"Discard the sacred, abandon strategies; the people will benefit a hundred-fold. Discard philanthropy, abandon morality; the people will return to natural love. Discard acquisitiveness, abandon cleverness; the thieves will exist no longer."

"However, if these three passages are inadequate, adhere to these principles: perceive purity, embrace simplicity, reduce self-interest, limit desires."

Taoists don't rely on social techniques that must be learned. Even philanthropy and morality are externally imposed ways of civilised behaviour that emerge in societies where useful instincts are lost and people no longer trust themselves.

Enlightened leaders strive to be intuitive, spontaneous and simple. From this base they travel lighter, journey farther and survive longer.

In this passage, leaders are urged to use attitude as a form of influence in order to transform their subjects. How? Perceive and acknowledge integrity whenever it appears; attach less emphasis to self-interest and limit d esires by learning to recognise that the greatest happiness in life comes in moments of the purest simplicity (that is plain, like a piece of uncarved wood). (19)

The advice here is to free oneself from the restraints of tradition - the so-called “wisdom of the ages” that is a straightjacket for the mind. A leader who brings this approach to leadership allows the organisation to function naturally, in proper response to the conditions in that it finds itself. A tradition-bound leader will base his decisions on precedent “what did my predecessors do in this situation” or “in 1793, our illustrious leader did this in response to a similar situation”. These prefabricated responses lack insight and run a high risk of not being appropriate for the situation at hand.

There is a tendency to assume that philanthropy is an absolute good. If it is done with the wrong motives it is not an absolute good. By discarding philanthropy, a well-intentioned person will naturally perform actions that bene fit the world - there is no need to rely on the pre-packaged formula for doing good that has been handed down to us by the religious leaders of the past.

Perceive purity, embrace simplicity, reduce self-interest, limit desires - by doing these, one becomes more intuitive and thus more in tune with the Tao.

Published by: David Tuffley (January 2000) | Home Page